BOREAS TF-02: Tethered Balloon Atmospheric Measurements

BOREAS TF-02 team collected vertical profiles of meteorological and ozone data using a tethered balloon system, extending tower measurements to 300 meters altitude. The tethersonde operated during the fall of 1993 and the spring, summer, and fall of 1994 at the SSA-OA site in the boreal forest. This dataset provides a detailed vertical snapshot of atmospheric conditions for a key ecosystem study.

Use Cases

• Analyzing vertical ozone gradients based on tethered balloon profiles.
• Studying boreal forest boundary layer meteorology using time-series atmospheric measurements.
• Validating atmospheric transport models with in-situ meteorological and ozone data.
• Investigating seasonal atmospheric chemistry variations from multi-season campaign data.

Strengths

• Provides vertical atmospheric profiles up to 300 meters, a specific altitude range not covered by ground towers alone.
• Covers multiple seasons across two years (fall 1993, spring/summer/fall 1994), offering temporal context.
• Dataset is hosted by NASA, indicating institutional credibility and association with the large-scale BOREAS campaign.

Limitations

• Column names and specific data structure are unknown, limiting immediate usability.
• Conflicting metadata exists: one platform lists a last update in 2026 (likely a system artifact), while the authoritative source indicates data collection ended in 1994.
• Data size and row counts are unspecified, making it difficult to assess the dataset's scale.

Provenance

Source

National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), BOREAS TF-02 team.

Collection Method

In-situ measurements collected from instruments mounted below a tethered balloon.

Time Range

Fall 1993, and spring, summer, and fall of 1994.

Freshness

1994-09-19 23:59:59.999000

Geography

SSA-OA site (likely Southern Study Area Old Aspen site) in the boreal forest.